A few of us on the Outlaws Run will have HAM on board and I was wondering if anyone knows of a good resource to locate repeaters along our route. We'll be running between Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado., Rock Springs and Kaycee in Wyoming. I found a bunch of random stuff online, but was wondering if anyone had any specifics on what we might try to hit. Thanks!

:guapo:

Uncle Ben

10-14-2009, 12:21 AM

http://www.powerwerx.com/_images/products/BK-9914_xlrg.jpg

Mendocino

10-14-2009, 07:54 AM

Martin,

You can borrow my ARRL repeater guide if you want to.

MDH33

10-14-2009, 08:02 AM

:D

Thanks Uncle Ben. Now can you please open it up to the wyoming page and post that up??

:beer:

MDH33

10-14-2009, 08:03 AM

Martin,

You can borrow my ARRL repeater guide if you want to.

Thanks Jeff. I guess it's as good a time as any to buy one.

:thumb:

rover67

10-14-2009, 09:07 AM

I have two repeater books you guys can borrow. I'll try to remember to scan it at work today either way though

DaveInDenver

10-14-2009, 09:11 AM

Thanks Jeff. I guess it's as good a time as any to buy one.

:thumb:
I have one from 2004-2005, but they are usually accurate enough for a few years. They are worth the price for convenience and accuracy. From memory there are CCR repeaters in Laramie, Steamboat and Craig. The one in Craig you can usually get along US40 near Dinosaur on the Colorado side but lose when you drop down into the Yampa valley. There is a GP open repeater in Steamboat I'm pretty sure. There are a handful of open GP repeaters in Rock Springs and one you can usually hear from Vernal throughout Dinosaur and almost up to the Flaming Gorge.

Inukshuk

10-14-2009, 09:53 AM

How about "repeater use for dummies" like me. I still have never used one.

MDH33

10-14-2009, 10:32 AM

How about "repeater use for dummies" like me. I still have never used one.

I saw Seans email about putting a list together. That will be great. :thumb:

The most difficult thing is just getting the repeaters programmed into your radio correctly, which really isn't too difficult. I'm going to get some programmed asap before the run. Once they're in, it works just like simplex, except you need to listen more for others using it, and there's a morse code tail when you transmit.

rover67

10-14-2009, 10:59 AM

Maybe Dave can explain how to use them better than me. I can fumble my way through but not well enough to explain it...

here are the Wyoming repeaters out of the 09-10 repeater book.

Uncle Ben

10-14-2009, 11:19 AM

:D

Thanks Uncle Ben. Now can you please open it up to the wyoming page and post that up??

:beer:

1-800-buy-uown! :p: :lmao::lmao: I suppose I could break down and scan the pages for you. When I went to Black Hills I found (practical) repeater lists on the Gore net with some simple searching. Trouble with the directory over Google is you have no idea of the coverage or common use of the repeaters.

Uncle Ben

10-14-2009, 11:20 AM

Maybe Dave can explain how to use them better than me. I can fumble my way through but not well enough to explain it...

here are the Wyoming repeaters out of the 09-10 repeater book.

Ta da ! :lmao:

MDH33

10-14-2009, 11:23 AM

Maybe Dave can explain how to use them better than me. I can fumble my way through but not well enough to explain it...

here are the Wyoming repeaters out of the 09-10 repeater book.

Thanks Marco, I downloaded these .doc files but can't open them.. Can you post them as .jpg?

DaveInDenver

10-14-2009, 11:50 AM

Maybe Dave can explain how to use them better than me.
Set frequency, push button and talk. Even a Cruiser driver can figure this out. ;-)

The hard part to grasp is the repeater offset and radios made since about 1985 generally do that for you (Yeasu calls it ARS, automatic repeater shift). Although I will admit explaining and understanding tones is also difficult. Think of the tone as the unlock code, like on software you install. You have to put in the right number to get the repeater to work. This is where the ARRL book is indispensable, it is usually the most correct reference on what is the current tone for a repeater.

rover67

10-14-2009, 11:56 AM

Thanks Marco, I downloaded these .doc files but can't open them.. Can you post them as .jpg?

sure, standby

rover67

10-14-2009, 12:04 PM

see if you can even see the images here..

MDH33

10-14-2009, 12:10 PM

Perfect, Thanks! :yagi::thumb:

DaveInDenver

10-14-2009, 12:31 PM

Marco posting those scans is, as they say, a teachable moment!

Everything you need to work on a repeater is right there. The only thing not given is the actual offset frequency which you would have to know. But I cropped a section of the book that shows the way the 3 main repeaters work.

15149

Take the Lusk repeater first. It tells you to listen on 147.330MHz, that it's a plus (+) offset repeater and to use 100 Hz tone. It also tells you that it has an autopatch (#) and a LTZ (long tone zero). Get to those in a minute.

So you set your radio to 147.330 as the output frequency (your listen frequency, the repeater output). The repeater input frequency (your transmit) will be 600KHz offset from that, so since it's a plus that means you transmit on 147.930MHz (147.330 + 0.600 = 147.930). Set your radio to use a tone of 100Hz, which since it's not called out otherwise means to use PL Tone or CTCSS, depending on how it's given on your radio. The 600KHz for 2m VHF is by convention and agreement amongst all hams, there is no particular significance to it. Other bands use different offsets (70cm UHF is 5MHz for example) and different countries might use different direction and frequency offsets.

All radios that the members of the club have should recognize that 147.330 is a repeater area and will automatically do the 600KHz offset for you. There is a plus or minus that shows up on the display usually to indicate that. If you modify your radio (which I'm sure no one has, right?) it might NOT do that automatically anymore. Manufacturers deliver region specific radios and if you go mucking about with the firmware it usually throws in the towel and assumes you know how to set offsets. So do not tread into that lightly. This includes often software settable radios like the VX-7R...

Next is the Cheyenne repeater listed. It works similarly with the exception that it's a minus (-) offset input. So listen on 146.800 and transmit into 146.200MHz. It appears to be a repeater that does not require a tone to access. This is pretty atypical for an urban area, although not necessarily out of the ordinary for rural areas.

The other type is the Casper Mountain repeater that says listen on 147.460MHz and says to use 147.460 in the place of a + or -. That means this is a repeater that probably is a retransmitter. You talk in, it records your message and when you release the key it transmits your message. In this case you don't use an offset at all, but notice it still has a input tone of 100Hz. But with these remember to listen and leave gaps between talking so that you don't talk over another message. Also etiquette is important, these are harder to break into and so leave a couple of seconds for other stations to answer or get in. It is also important to notice that you would have to override your radio's ARS function potentially in this case, so be aware. I believe 147.460 is within the assumed repeater range and so most radios would want to do an offset.

Most of you guys probably know what an autopatch does, but LTZ might be unfamiliar. These are part of the wilderness protocol and generally emergency use. A repeater that lists LTZ will dial a pre-designated phone number when you press and hold the zero key on your mic for a few seconds. That's usually 911 or a sheriff, but could be most any phone number. Most autopatches are closed to general use but the LTZ is almost universally the exception. Anyone doing a LTZ will get the phone call even without the access code to the autopatch.